System and method for processing tax codes by company group

ABSTRACT

A system and method for assigning taxability codes to purchases, and processing tax invoices, by company groups. A user, identified to one of a group of companies, inputs a requisition. Tax code and tax location are identified in a front end process applicable to the object of the requisition and converted into a converted tax code and tax jurisdiction and fed to a back end processor. Responsive to converted tax code and the tax jurisdiction for the corresponding company group, the back end prepares a purchase order which is transmitted to a supplier. Responsive to an invoice from the supplier and company group and tax code indicia from the purchase order, the back end processes and selectively pays, short pays, or rejects the invoice.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] The following U.S. patent applications, filed concurrently orotherwise copending, are assigned to the assignee hereof and containsubject matter related, in certain respect, to the subject matter of thepresent application.

[0002] Ser. No. 09/657,215, filed Sep. 7, 2000, entitled “System andMethod for Clustering Servers for Performance and Load Balancing”,assignee docket END9-2000-0104-US1;

[0003] Ser. No. 09/657,216, filed Sep. 7, 2000, entitled “System andMethod for Front End Business Logic and Validation”, assignee docketEND9-2000-0105-US1;

[0004] Ser. No. 09/657,217, filed Sep. 7, 2000, entitled “System andMethod for Data Transfer With Respect to External Applications”,assignee docket END9-2000-0106-US1;

[0005] Ser. No. 09/656,037, filed Sep. 7, 2000, entitled “System andMethod for Providing a Relational Database Backend”, assignee docketEND9-2000-0107-US1;

[0006] Ser. No. 09/656,803, filed Sep. 7, 2000, entitled “System andMethod for Providing a Role Table GUI via Company Group”, assigneedocket END9-2000-0108-US1;

[0007] Ser. No. 09/656,967, filed Sep. 7, 2000, entitled “System andMethod for Populating HTML Forms Using Relational Database Agents”,assignee docket END9-2000-0109-US1;

[0008] Ser. No. 09/657,196, filed Sep. 7, 2000, entitled “System andMethod for Catalog Administration Using Supplier Provided Flat Files”,assignee docket END9-2000-0110-US1;

[0009] Ser. No. 09/657,195, filed Sep. 7, 2000, entitled “System andMethod for Providing an Application Navigator Client Menu Side Bar”,assignee docket END9-2000-0111-US1;

[0010] Ser. No. 09/______ , entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATINGINVOICE PROCESSING WITH POSITIVE CONFIRMATION”, assignee docket numberEND9 2000 0165 US1;

[0011] Ser. No. 09/______, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GENERATING ACOMPANY GROUP USER PROFILE”, assignee docket number END9 2000 0166 US1;

[0012] Ser. No. 09/______, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SHARING DATAACROSS FRAMES USING ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES”, assignee docket number END92000 0167 US1;

[0013] Ser. No. 09/______, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SYNCHRONIZINGLEDGER ACCOUNTS BY COMPANY GROUP”, assignee docket number END9 2000 0168US1;

[0014] Ser. No. 09/______, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GROUPINGCOMPANIES ACCORDING TO ACCOUNTING SYSTEM OR RULES”, assignee docketnumber END9 2000 0169 US1;

[0015] Ser. No. 09/______, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FRAME STORAGEOF EXECUTABLE CODE”, assignee docket number END9 2000 0174 US1;

[0016] Ser. No. 09/______, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INVOICEIMAGING THROUGH NEGATIVE CONFIRMATION PROCESS”, assignee docket numberEND9 2000 0175 US1;

[0017] Ser. No. 09/______, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR LEVERAGINGPROCUREMENT ACROSS COMPANIES AND COMPANY GROUPS”, assignee docket numberEND9 2000 0176 US1; and

[0018] Ser. No. 09/______, filed Mar. 2, 2001, entitled “SYSTEM ANDMETHOD FOR MANAGING INTERNET TRADING NETWORKS”, assignee docket numberEND9 2000 0178 US1.

[0019] The above-identified patent applications are incorporated hereinby reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0020] 1. Technical Field of the Invention

[0021] This invention pertains to a system and method for processing taxcodes by company group in a front-end processor to bridge to a back-endpurchasing system.

[0022] 2. Background Art

[0023] When companies purchase goods, there are certain requirements fortaxation. Taxation requirements differ by county, city, state, countryand other locales, creating processing problems in paying those taxescorrectly. Most companies use tax packages to determine taxability,based on where the goods are shipped; however, this does not take intoaccount items that are purchased for research purposes or governmentcontracts, which are not taxable. In certain companies, the peopleordering the goods know the taxability and the shipping information, andcan determine the taxability at the time of the order, but they are notusually the ones who interface with the tax packages; this is usuallyleft to the Accounts Payable area.

[0024] There is a need in the art to provide an automated process forassigning taxability codes to purchases by company groups, and toautomatically adapt to those company groups adapt the processing of taxpayments.

[0025] There is a further need to provide in a front end for theassignment of taxability codes, to thereby reduce the amount of workrequired on a back end process for resolving tax issues.

[0026] It is an object of the invention to provide an improved systemand method for processing tax payments.

[0027] It is a further object of the invention to provide a system andmethod for assigning taxability codes to purchases by company groups,and to automatically adapt to those company groups the processing of taxpayments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0028] In accordance with the invention, there is provided a system andmethod for assigning taxability codes to purchases and processing taxinvoices, the method including the steps of receiving from a user,identified by company indicia to one of a plurality of company groups, apurchase requisition for a service or commodity object; responsive tothe indicia and object, determining in a front end process a tax codeand tax location based on defined business rules; feeding the tax codeand tax location code to a back end process; in the back end process,converting the tax code and tax location to a tax jurisdiction code withassociated tax rate and preparing a purchase order identified to theappropriate company group for transmittal.

[0029] In accordance with an aspect of the invention, there is provideda computer program product configured to be operable to assigningtaxability codes to purchases, and processing tax invoices, by companygroups.

[0030] Other features and advantages of this invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description of the presentlypreferred embodiment of the invention, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031]FIG. 1 is a high level system diagram illustrating taxabilityprocessing for a plurality of company groups in accordance with thepreferred embodiment of the invention.

[0032]FIG. 2 is schematic representation of a process for preparingtaxability for a purchase order in accordance with a scenario applicableto a first company group.

[0033]FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a process for payinginvoices for said first company group.

[0034]FIG. 4 is schematic representation of a process for preparingtaxability for a purchase order in accordance with a scenario applicableto a second company group.

[0035]FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a process for payinginvoices for said second company group.

[0036]FIG. 6 is schematic representation of a process for preparingtaxability for a purchase order in accordance with a scenario applicableto a third company group.

[0037]FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of a process for payinginvoices for said third company group.

[0038]FIG. 8 is a representation of a screen panel display for usersrequired to select tax code and location.

[0039]FIG. 9 is a representation of a screen panel expansion of the taxindicator code of FIG. 8.

[0040]FIG. 10 is a representation of a screen panel expansion of the taxlocation code of FIG. 8.

[0041]FIG. 11 illustrates a purchase order detail screen which shows taxcode I1 which is a taxable code.

[0042]FIG. 12 illustrates a screen showing the tax jurisdiction code.

[0043]FIG. 13 illustrates an invoice verification screen showing a I1tax code and tax jurisdiction code of 33I000000 which have defaultedfrom the purchase order.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0044] In accordance with the preferred embodiments of the invention, asystem and method are provided for identifying specific tax jurisdictioncodes and appropriate tax indicator codes by company groups, in afront-end procurement system to bridge to a back-end purchasing systemfor appropriate processing. This provides a system and method forautomating the process of configuring tax processing across multiplecompanies and groups of associated companies.

[0045] Further in accordance with the invention, there is provided asystem and method for assigning taxability codes to purchases, andprocessing tax invoices, by company groups at the time of placing theorder. A user, identified to one of a group of companies, inputs arequisition. Depending upon the user's company group and businessprocesses, the user may be required to select an appropriate tax codeand tax location for the goods to be purchased, or have it assignedautomatically. This capability is associated with individual line items,rather than the entire requisition. Certain companies may require thetax code to be assigned by a “tax approver,” who reviews the requisitionitems and assigns tax codes as appropriate. Tax code and tax locationare identified in a front end process applicable to the object of therequisition and converted into a converted tax code and tax jurisdictionand fed to a back end processor. Responsive to converted tax code andthe tax jurisdiction for the corresponding company group, the back endprepares a purchase order which is transmitted to a supplier. Responsiveto an invoice from the supplier and company group and tax code indiciafrom the purchase order, the back end processes and selectively pays,short pays, or rejects the invoice.

[0046] Referring to FIGS. 2 through 7, an exemplary embodimentillustrating three tax processing scenarios on behalf of three differentcompany groups is presented. In the first scenario (FIGS. 2 and 3), auser creating a requisition is involved in selecting the taxability. Inthe second scenario (FIGS. 4 and 5), taxability is determined based onthe commodity being purchased. And in the third scenario (FIGS. 6 and7), taxability is determined based on the commodity being purchased andthe purchasing ship to location. Which scenario is executed isdetermined by the company code assigned to the user creating therequisition.

[0047] Referring to FIG. 1, a system and process flow diagram isprovided which draws together in one overview the three systemsillustrated in FIGS. 2-7.

[0048] In step 201, a user logs on to Req/Cat. His user profiledetermines the company group.

[0049] In step 203, users in group A use the tax process shown in FIG.2. In step 205, users in group B use the tax process of FIG. 4. In step207, users in group C use the tax process of FIG. 6.

[0050] In step 209, a Req/Cat requisition is created.

[0051] In step 211, the Req/Cat requisition is bridged to SAP, with thetax code and tax location sent to SAP. The tax location code isconverted to a SAP tax jurisdiction code by the bridge.

[0052] In step 213, the SAP requisition is created, and the taxinformation is stored in a requisition table.

[0053] In step 215, the purchase order is created using tax informationfrom the requisition table.

[0054] In step 217, the invoice is received from the supplier.

[0055] In step 219, invoices for companies in group A are processed asshown in FIG. 3. In step 221, invoices for companies in group B areprocessed as shown in FIG. 5. In step 223, invoices for companies ingroup C are processed as shown in FIG. 7.

[0056] User profiles contain a default tax location code for the user.This is derived from the user's plant code (a plant has an associatedtax location code, based on its address). A user can edit his profile atany time and change this default tax location code.

[0057] When a user logs onto the front-end, he is associated with a userprofile that has what company group and company he is in. (There is afeed from the HR system with this information, that guarantees the useris in the correct company group, as is more fully described in copendingapplication Ser. No. ______, assignee docket END9 2000 0166.) Thebusiness logic in the front-end then determines how much information theuser must enter for taxes, based on his company group. In some cases,the user sees nothing—the system defaults to a tax code and location. Inanother company group, the user must select both. And in another, theuser doesn't see anything—the tax approver must determine these fields.

[0058]FIG. 8 illustrates the display panel presented at the line itemlevel to a user who is required to select tax code and tax location.

[0059]FIG. 9 represents the expansion of the “tax indicator code” ofFIG. 8.

[0060]FIG. 10 illustrates the expansion of the “tax location code” ofFIG. 8, and displays the list of tax location codes appropriate for theuser's company:

[0061] Referring to FIG. 2, in accordance with the first scenario ofthis exemplary embodiment of the invention, a requester or user at theline item level in Req/Cat 110 determines taxability. There are twofields in Req/Cat 110 to make a tax determination.

[0062] First is the tax code field 112. The field tax code 112 defaultswith the value “taxable”. However, the user may choose a non taxablereason for the purchase from a drop down list 108 with which, as isrepresented by line 107, to override the default entry to tax code 112.In this embodiment, by way of example, tax codes available for userselection in list 108 include the following: I1 Taxable N1 Nontaxable -Resale N2 Nontaxable - Manufacturing N3 Nontaxable - Research &Development N4 Nontaxable - Capital Improvement N5 Nontaxable - ServiceN6 Nontaxable - Other

[0063] Second is the tax location field 114. As is represented by line103 to line item selection 106 in user requisition interface 104, thefield tax code 112 defaults in user profile 102 to the company locationcode 100. Location code 100 can be changed by user actuation atselection 106 according to the desired point for shipment of the goods,and as represented by line 105 this selection is fed to tax locationfield 114 in Req/Cat application 110.

[0064] The tax code 112 and tax location 114 are fed, as is representedby lines 109 and 111, respectively, to SAP requisition table 116. As isrepresented by line 115, the tax location field 120 is converted to aSAP tax jurisdiction code. The tax code 118 and tax jurisdiction 122 fora given requisition 113 line in table 116 are used when the purchaseorder is created from the requisition. The tax code 118 and jurisdictioncode 122 combination is maintained in SAP via a FTXP transaction. Aperiodic update spreadsheet is provide by the company to maintain thetax rates in table 126. A SAP purchase order contains the tax code 118and tax jurisdiction code 122 as these are determined in Req/Cat 110.The purchase order output 124 contains a tax code 118 description, ajurisdiction code 122 description and the tax rate from table 126corresponding to tax jurisdiction 122.

[0065] The tax code and tax location code from the front-end are passedto the back-end and stored in a table for each requisition line item.The 3-position tax location from the front-end is converted to a 9-digittax jurisdiction code.

[0066] For example, tax location 33F in the front-end is converted totax jurisdiction 33F000000. Each tax code (i.e. I1, N1, N2 . . . etc.)is maintained with each tax jurisdiction (i.e. 33I000000, 33F000000 . .. ) to arrive at a rate in the back-end. The tax code and taxjurisdiction for the given requisition line is used when the purchaseorder is created from the requisition. A monthly update spreadsheet isprovided by the companies to maintain the rates. The purchase ordercontains the tax code/tax jurisdiction code as was determined in thefront-end. The purchase order output contains the tax code description,the jurisdiction code description and the tax rate.

[0067] Referring to FIG. 3, purchase order 124 is sent to supplier 130who fills the order and, as is represented by line 135, submits aninvoice 132 for payment. As is represented by lines 133, 137 and 139,invoice 132 and purchase order 124 are utilized in an accounts payableprocess 134 and, as is represented by line 145, payment remitted back tosupplier 130. The tax code 138 is obtained from purchase order 124, andthe tax 140 amount invoiced is obtained from invoice 132 and utilized,as is represented by line 142, to determine processing subsequent toreceipt of invoice 132.

[0068] At step 142, when purchase order 124 contains a non-taxable code138 and invoice 132 contains no tax 140, the invoice is payed aspresented by the supplier 130.

[0069] At step 144, when purchase order 133 contains a non-taxable code138 and invoice 132 contains no tax 140, the invoice is short paid. Thatis, the invoiced amount less the tax is paid to the supplier, and as isrepresented by line 141 the supplier is notified via payment advicet4ext that the invoice is paid short the tax.

[0070] At step 146, when purchase order 133 contains a taxable code 138and invoice 132 contains tax 140, the invoice is paid as presented bysupplier 130, and any warning messages from SAP that a different rate oramount was calculated from tax rates table 126 are ignored.

[0071] At step 148, when purchase order 133 contains a taxable code 138and invoice 132 does not contain tax 140, the invoice is paid aspresented by supplier 130. As is represented by line 143, the accountspayable representative, in this case, in step 150 will selected in theinvoice verification procedure a calculate tax routine (such as byclicking on a tax calculation button in the invoice verificationwindow), changing the tax code to UI in an invoice detail screen. Instep 152, SAP will then calculate the tax, charging the expense accountand crediting the tax account.

[0072]FIG. 11 illustrates a purchase order detail screen which shows taxcode I1 which is a taxable code.

[0073]FIG. 12 illustrates a screen showing the tax jurisdiction code.

[0074]FIG. 13 illustrates an invoice verification screen showing a I1tax code and a tax jurisdiction code of 33I000000 which have defaultedfrom the purchase order.

[0075] Referring to FIG. 4, in accordance with the second scenario ofthis exemplary embodiment of the invention, the user (or requester, theindividual preparing or requesting preparation of a purchase order) isnot involved in tax determination. Rather, tax determination is derivedfrom the general ledger account for the item being purchased, and a taxdepartment review is required for those buys of items for which the taxcode 112 is X or blank.

[0076] The tax code for each general ledger (G/L) account is maintainedin validation table 162 for companies in this company group 160. Taxcodes 112 for this scenario are as follows: A Taxable (other) B Taxable(repair and replace) C Taxable (reduced rate) D Taxable (computerservices) N Not taxable (other) R Not taxable (resale) X Either taxableor non taxable “” (Blank) either taxable or non taxable

[0077] An X or blank means that the tax determination cannot be madeautomatically. In this case, the requisition is sent for managementapproval and then held pending a review and determination of the correcttax code by the tax department.

[0078] A user from company 160 has a default tax location entered in hisuser profile 102 which will be displayed in line item tax locationselection field 106 at interface 104 when requesting a purchase. Theuser may change the value for tax location. As is represented by line105, the default or user selected tax location is entered to taxlocation field 114 in Req/Cat 110. However, tax code fields are hidden,or shown as non-changeable) at user requisition interface 104 for usersin all companies in company group 160. In the tax department, this taxcode is viewable and changeable by the tax approver.

[0079] Determination of the tax rate for a given object is determined bytax code 112 and tax location 114. Within Req/Cat 110, as is representedby line 167, tax location 114 is converted to tax jurisdiction 122 andstored in requisition table 116. As is represented by line 161, tax code112 goes through a requisition approval process 164 which, in the eventof an X or blank code 112 requires in steps 166 and 168 tax departmentreview and determination of the applicable tax code.

[0080] Bridging from Req/Cat 110 to SAP 116 is then done. In step 170,the resulting tax code is converted to a SAP tax code and, asrepresented by line 165, stored in converted tax code field 174 inrequisition table 116. In the event that in step 168 it is determinedthat the intended supplier is not registered to collect tax, the tax isaccrued to the state (tax jurisdiction). Tax code conversion step 170may be executed with respect to a tax code conversion table, such as isillustrated in Table 1. TABLE 1 TAX CODE CONVERSION TABLE Converted TaxCode 112 Tax Code 174 Description A A1 Taxable - Other B B1 Taxable -Repair & Replace C C1 Taxable - Reduced Rate D D1 Taxable - ComputerServices E E2 Taxable F F1 Taxable G G1 Taxable H H1 Taxable N E1 NonTaxable - Other R S1 Non Taxable - Resale (may be out of scope)

[0081] As is represented by lines 119, 121 and 169, the purchase order124 is created by line item from converted tax code 174, taxjurisdiction 122, and tax rate tables 126. An example output purchaseorder 124 may read: “I1 Taxable, Item subject to Tax CT—Connecticut 6%”.

[0082] Referring to FIG. 5, for this second tax processing scenario,accounts payable process 134 will pay invoice 132 as provided bysupplier 130 in step 202 when tax code 138 is taxable and tax isinvoiced, in step 204 when tax code 138 is not taxable and no tax isinvoiced, in step 206 when tax code 138 is taxable and no tax isinvoiced, and in step 212 when tax code 138 indicates a tax rate lessthan the rate invoiced. In step 214, the company accrues and pays thetax directly. Accounts payable process 134 will short pay the invoicewhen, in step 208, tax code 138 is not taxable and tax is invoiced, andin step 210 when tax code 138 indicates that the tax rate is less thanthe tax invoiced 140.

[0083] Referring to FIG. 6, in accordance with the third scenario ofthis exemplary embodiment of the invention, tax determination is madewith reference to the commodity being purchased and the purchasinglocation (that is, the ship to location). In this process, the tax codeis derived based on the general ledger account for the commodity orservice being purchased, and the requester is allowed to enter the taxlocation code. The combination of tax code and tax location is thenvalidated, and the cost center being charged is verified as a taxablecost center.

[0084] A company taxability table 180 is maintained for all companies inthis company group which includes, for each general ledger account 182,the appropriate tax code 184 and tax ship to location 186. Table 2illustrates a sample primary taxability table 180. TABLE 2 SAMPLECOMPANY GROUP TAXABILITY TABLE 180 G/L Account 182 Tax Location CT1 TaxLocation CT2 021500000 A1 E1 017400000 B1 AB

[0085] In this example, when a purchase is made using G/L account021500000 and the requestor's tax ship to location is CT2, then the taxcode E1 and tax location CT2 would be populated to Req/Cat 110 field 112and 114, respectively. The combination of this tax code 184 and taxlocation 186 drive the taxability of the requisition line item 192. Thetax code of AB in Table 2 represents that the taxable other code isapplicable but other factors could make the purchase non-taxable. Inthat case, a secondary taxability check 196 needs to be performed.

[0086] In the example of Table 2, the tax codes 184 used for each taxlocation 186 code are as follows: A1 Taxable - Other AB Could be eithernon taxable or taxable B1 Taxable - Repair and replace BB Could beeither non taxable or taxable C1 Taxable - Reduced rate CB Could beeither non taxable or taxable D1 Taxable - Computer services DB Could beeither non taxable or taxable E1 Non taxable - Other S1 Non taxable -Resale T1 Tax included “” Route to tax approver to have tax codeassigned

[0087] When condition *B is encountered in primary taxability table 180,secondary check routine 196 is Req/Cat 110 will need to look at the costcenter type 194 (also derived from table 180) to determine taxability.

[0088] User requisition interface 104 is initialized with a default shipto location from user profile 102 in field 188, which the user mayaccept or change. As is represented by lines 181 and 185, the tax shipto location selected or accepted is fed to Req/Cat 110 tax locationfield 114. At user requisition interface 104, the user selects from anitem description and general ledger account pull down panel 190, thegeneral ledger account number 182 for the desired purchase, and this isused to access table 180 to obtain the corresponding tax code which isthen fed, as is represented by line 183, to tax code field 112 inReq/Cat 110. As in the preceding scenarios, tax code 112 and taxlocation 114 are converted and fed to requisition table 116, from whichpurchase order 124 is created.

[0089] A secondary taxability check is provided in this scenario tofurther define taxability. When the tax code 184 found in primarytaxability table 180 ends with a B, for example, routine 196 determinestaxability from the cost center type 194 contained in the requisitionline item.

[0090] Referring to FIG. 7, for this third scenario, accounts payableprocess 134 executes with respect to invoice 132 received from supplier130 against purchase order 124 as follows. The invoice 132 is paid asinvoiced when, in step 220 it is determined that tax code 138 frompurchase order 124 is taxable and tax 140 is invoiced; in step 222 whentax code 138 is not taxable and tax 140 is not invoiced; in steps 230and 232 when tax code 138 indicates a tax rate which is within toleranceof the tax 140 invoiced; and in step 236 when tax code 138 is taxableand invoice 132 includes a tax included code 140. In step 224, when taxcode 138 is taxable and no tax 140 is invoiced, the invoice is paid asprovided by the supplier but the full tax amount is accrued. In step226, when tax code 138 is not taxable and tax 140 is invoiced, or instep 228 when the tax 140 invoiced is more than a tolerance amount overthe tax code 138, the invoice is short paid (that is, paid at theinvoiced total amount less the tax or tax discrepancy, respectively). Instep 234, the invoice is returned unpaid to the supplier 130 when tax140 invoiced exceeds by some tolerance that rate applicable to tax code138.

[0091] Advantages Over the Prior Art

[0092] It is an advantage of the invention that there is provided animproved system and method for processing tax payments.

[0093] It is a further advantage of the invention that there is provideda system and method for assigning taxability codes to purchases bycompany groups, and to automatically adapt to those company groups theprocessing of tax payments.

[0094] Alternative Embodiments

[0095] It will be appreciated that, although specific embodiments of theinvention have been described herein for purposes of illustration,various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention. In particular, it is within the scope of theinvention to provide a computer program product or program element, or aprogram storage or memory device such as a solid or fluid transmissionmedium, magnetic or optical wire, tape or disc, or the like, for storingsignals readable by a machine, for controlling the operation of acomputer according to the method of the invention and/or to structureits components in accordance with the system of the invention.

[0096] Further, each step of the method may be executed on any generalcomputer, such as an IBM System 390, AS/400, PC or the like and pursuantto one or more, or a part of one or more, program elements, modules orobjects generated from any programming language, such as C++, Java,Pl/1, Fortran or the like. And still further, each said step, or a fileor object or the like implementing each said step, may be executed byspecial purpose hardware or a circuit module designed for that purpose.

[0097] Accordingly, the scope of protection of this invention is limitedonly by the following claims and their equivalents.

We claim:
 1. A method for assigning taxability codes to purchases andprocessing tax invoices, comprising the steps of: receiving from a user,identified by company indicia to one of a plurality of company groups, apurchase requisition for a service or commodity object; responsive tosaid indicia and said object, determining in a front end process, a taxcode and tax location based on defined business rules; feeding said taxcode and said tax location code to a back end process; and in said backend process, converting said tax code and tax location to a taxjurisdiction code with associated tax rate; and in said back endprocess, preparing a purchase order identified to said one of saidplurality of company groups for transmittal to a supplier of saidobject.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:receiving an invoice from said supplier, said invoice selectivelyincluding a tax field; responsive to said tax field, and to said companygroup and tax code indicia from said purchase order, processing saidinvoice and said tax field to selectively pay, short pay, or reject saidinvoice.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:receiving from said user tax code indicia and tax location indicia,thereby involving said user in defining taxability for said object basedon defined business rules.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprisingthe steps of: providing for each prospective object, a corresponding taxcode; and defining taxability for said object in said requisition withreference to said corresponding tax code and said tax location.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: maintaining in ataxability table for each general ledger account a corresponding taxcode and tax ship to location; responsive to user selection of saidobject, obtaining from said taxability table said tax code and said taxlocation; and defining taxability for said object in said requisitionwith reference to said corresponding tax code and tax ship to location.6. A system for assigning taxability codes to purchases and processingtax invoices, comprising: a user requisition interface for receivingfrom a user, identified by company indicia to one of a plurality ofcompany groups, a purchase requisition for a service or commodityobject; a front end processor; a back end processor; said front endprocessor being responsive to said indicia and said object fordetermining a tax code and tax location, and for converting said taxcode into a converted tax code and said tax location into a taxjurisdiction; said back end process being responsive to said convertedtax code, said tax jurisdiction, said preparing and said company indiciafor preparing a purchase order identified to said one of said pluralityof company groups for transmittal to a supplier of said object.
 7. Thesystem of claim 6, further comprising: said back end being responsive toan invoice from said supplier selectively including a tax field and tosaid company group and tax code indicia from said purchase order forprocessing said invoice and said tax field to selectively pay, shortpay, or reject said invoice.
 8. The system of claim 6, furthercomprising: said front end processor receiving from said user tax codeindicia and tax location indicia, thereby involving said user indefining taxability for said object.
 9. The system of claim 6, furthercomprising: a data store for providing for each prospective object, acorresponding tax code; and said front end processor further definingtaxability for said object in said requisition with reference to saidcorresponding tax code and said tax location.
 10. The system of claim 6,further comprising: a taxability table for storing for each generalledger account a corresponding tax code and tax ship to location; saidfront end processor further responsive to user selection of said objectfor obtaining from said taxability table said tax code and said taxlocation and for defining taxability for said object in said requisitionwith reference to said corresponding tax code and tax ship to location.11. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying aprogram of instructions executable by a machine to perform method stepsfor assigning taxability codes to purchases and processing tax invoices,said method steps comprising: receiving from a user, identified bycompany indicia to one of a plurality of company groups, a purchaserequisition for a service or commodity object; responsive to saidindicia and said object, determining in a front end process, a tax codeand tax location; in said front end process, converting said tax codeinto a converted tax code and said tax location into a tax jurisdiction;feeding said converted tax code and said tax jurisdiction to a back endprocess; and in said back end process, preparing a purchase orderidentified to said one of said plurality of company groups fortransmittal to a supplier of said object.
 12. A computer program productor computer program element for assigning taxability codes to purchasesand processing tax invoices according to the steps of: receiving from auser, identified by company indicia to one of a plurality of companygroups, a purchase requisition for a service or commodity object;responsive to said indicia and said object, determining in a front endprocess, a tax code and tax location; in said front end process,converting said tax code into a converted tax code and said tax locationinto a tax jurisdiction; feeding said converted tax code and said taxjurisdiction to a back end process; and in said back end process,preparing a purchase order identified to said one of said plurality ofcompany groups for transmittal to a supplier of said object.